Understanding policy analysis in France requires first a thorough exploration of the distinction usually made in French academic and practitioner debates between policy studies and policy analysis--essentially the difference between studies of policy and studies designed for the use of policy. This book begins there, then delves into questions of how and by whom knowledge of policies is produced within and outside the French state, showing that while the tension between the two types of study is real, the continued exchange of ideas between them has led to an enrichment of both spheres. The book thus lays the foundation for a more systematic understanding of policy analysis in France.
Public Policy Lessons from the AIDS Response in Africa examines how the interplay between national state dynamics in Africa and the global political arena has shaped the global AIDS response, and in this context develops a framework for analysing public policy action more broadly in contemporary Africa. By applying comparative political sociology to AIDS public action, this book identifies four political models that are applicable to public initiatives. Fred Eboko goes on to test these in other domains – namely, the malaria and tuberculosis health subsectors, and the education and environment sectors. By articulating global and national connections and contributing a critical perspective grounded in African scholarship and French political science, the author builds a bold and ambitious framework with the potential to enable coherent and effective public policy action in Africa. This book will be of interest to scholars and students of public health, global health, political science, and development studies, as well as policy-level practitioners in the areas of global health and development.
Information--regular, systematic, reliable--is the life-blood of democracy and the fuel of effective management. Surely today there is no problem with information, for this is the age of information overload. It pours onto our computer screens and out of our printers. Indeed, many governments claim, often with some justification, to be more open and transparent than ever before. But what if the life-blood is contaminated, or the fuel polluted? Then the body politic sickens and the engine of public management runs rough. It is the vital issue of the quality of the information we receive that this book addresses. Quality Matters compares approaches across different jurisdictional settings and across three different types of information evaluation. The chapters describe and analyze quality assurance in a number of countries and within a variety of international organizations. These have been selected either because they are widely considered to be leaders in evaluating information or because they have experience with assuring quality information that can instruct others. Contributors are from Australia, Canada, the European Union, France, the Netherlands, New Zealand, Sweden, Switzerland, United Kingdom, United States, and the World Bank. This pioneering study analyzes practices for assuring the quality of evaluation, performance auditing, and reporting in the face of political, organizational, and technical obstacles. A final chapter addresses the extent to which quality assurance systems become bothersome rituals or remain meaningful mechanisms to ensure quality control. This well-structured volume will be of particular interest to policymakers and adds much to the literature on program evaluation and performance auditing.
This report examines how to improve the way governments serve Canadians using case studies of five agencies of the Canadian Federal Government, including their attempts to improve service delivery and the constraints or obstacles they face as they seek to make such improvements. The agencies studied include the Canada Communication Group (formerly the Queen's Printer); the Passport Office; the Geological Survey of Canada; the Aboriginal Business Canada program in Industry Canada; and the Marketing Practices Branch of the Bureau of Competition Policy in Industry Canada. The report examines the concept of service as it relates to the theory of bureaucracy, implementation theory and the policy instrument mix, and the institutional economics of bureaucracy; the re-invention of government theory; and the four service attributes.
After two decades of rapid technological and structural change and an overall record of poor economic performance, Canadians need to take stock of the ongoing transformation of the labour market and its implications for public policy. The fundamental changes to the nature of work itself suggest that labour and social policies established decades ago may no longer be adequate or appropriate. Moreover, the continuing perception of increased instability and worsening employment outcomes, and the growing concern over increased earnings inequality and labour market polarisation, have raised serious questions about the role of government not only in addressing the consequences of economic adjustment but also in facilitating or, worse, hampering this process. In Adapting Public Policy to a Labour Market in Transition leading labour market specialists examine specific areas of public policy that have generated considerable attention and debate in recent years. They provide new evidence on issues of utmost concern to the well-being of Canadians and a solid assessment of the challenges and avenues for policy reform.
These papers discuss the variations in business planning in Canada, with a view to presenting : a history of the process in the mid- to late-1990s, a template of best practices, and some observations on future directions for the business-planning process, as governments move into an era of surplus.
The demands associated with good governance and good public management are at an all-time high. Yet the discipline of Canadian public administration is in flux, and the time is ripe for an open and frank analysis of its state and possibilities. Canadian Public Administration in the 21st Century brings together emerging voices in Canadian public adm
